KOTOR II: Mysteries in the Darkness
by Lexington's Hammer
Summary: [Chapters 1&2 Revised] I revised this story with a new name for the main character and a few corrections on the grammar and plotline mistakes from the first version I posted. Please read and review.
1. Saying Goodbye

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars, even though I am an avid fan of it. Star Wars and KOTOR II belong to George Lucas and OBSIDIAN. I am using a Galaxy Map that I found on for the locations for some of the planets, however those in the Unknown Regions are either original names or inspired by other planets on the website.

Chapter I: Saying Goodbye 

Keyan Toban, the greatest of the Jedi Weapons Masters, stood in the cockpit of the _Ebon Hawk_ at the edge of known space.

His reflection starred back at him in the cockpit's main viewport, his trimmed black hair and short black goatee, while warm blue eyes danced with the dim light from the cockpit.

Besides him the cockpit had four other occupants, Atton Rand the quick-talking Jedi Sentinel, Brianna Kae the former Handmaiden turned Jedi Guardian, Bao-Dur the technologically-minded Jedi Guardian, and Visas Marr the Miralukan Jedi Sentinel and former apprentice to Darth Nihilus.

Keyan reached out and fell more life in other places in the ship, T3-M4 the silver utility droid was rolling around the ship making repairs on the constantly stressed ship, HK-47 the copper plated assassin droid and Canderous Ordo, or better known as Mandalore and the leader of the Mandalorian Clans, were talking to each other about their past battles in the garage. While Mira the once bounty hunter now Jedi Consular slept in the medical bay trying to come to grips with her guilt after leaving Hanharr to die on Malachor V.

On either side of the _Ebon Hawk_ hovered two ships, a Mandalorian shuttle and a Republic transport, both waiting to take part of the _Ebon Hawk_'s crew on their own paths, their own journeys.

Mandalore and HK-47 were going to take the Mandalorian shuttle and continue onward to find the rest of the Mandalorian Clans that had scattered after the Mandalorian Wars.

Bao-Dur and Mira were going to Telos to help the already battered planet recover from the damage it received from Darth Nihilus' attack.

Keyan smiled to the Zabrak Jedi and pulled him into a hug, "Farewell Bao-Dur I hope you and Mira are successful on Telos and that you two can heal the injuries that planet has taken. May the Force be with you."

Bao-Dur returned Keyan's hug and patted the human on his shoulder, "Thank you General I will miss you, but now I know that the Force will always bind us together and after Mira and I have finished with our work on Telos we will find you to help you battle whatever you find in the Unknown Regions."

Keyan nodded as Bao-Dur stepped back and bowed deeply, the Zabrak Jedi's unique gray robes, with the left arm removed to accommodate his glowing artificial arm, falling around him "May the Force be with you, Master."

With a solemn nodded to the others in the cockpit the Zabrak Jedi turned and walked out to meet with Mira before they left the _Ebon Hawk_.

Keyan's heart cried out as the crew broke up; he already had had to deal with the loss of Kreia, his teacher and mentor, on Malachor V. He imagined Bao-Dur felt the same way about the loss of his Remote, who had perished along with GO-TO when Malachor V was destroyed.

The Jedi Weapons Master turned to face the remaining Jedi with him, "You all should go with them, where I am going is dangerous and I may not return. I can't ask any of you to come with me."

Visas was the first to speak, "My life, for yours. You killed my old Master, thus freeing me from his grasp forever, and because I am bonded to you; your life is my life and my life is your life. I will never leave your side, nor will any harm come to you while I still live."

Brianna looked deeply into his eyes, "You have shown me the ways of the Force and the Jedi as my mother would have wanted, you saved me from my own darkness that nearly overtook me when Kreia had told me you were dead. You saved me when Atris would have killed me and now I will return your trust by staying with you till the end of this journey." The white haired Jedi gulped slightly, "I now renew my vow to guard you and protect you until I die, no matter what the cost."

Keyan looked to Atton, who cracked a mischievous smile, "Well I don't think I can put things in terms as eloquent as they did, but I can tell you this: I have never felt as calm or at peace with myself since I began traveling you. Being at your side has made me see the errors of my past and I feel I need to atone for my past crimes and what better way to do it then to fight against the very source of all the pain and evil the Sith have caused?" He adjusted his brown robe that he had replaced his old jacket with, then rested both hands on Keyan's shoulders, "I'm your man until the end, whatever or wherever that may be."

Keyan grinned solemnly at them, "Thank you, all of you. You have no idea how much I appreciate that you all will stay by me, undertaking this journey doesn't seem nearly as menacing now that I know we'll face the coming challenges together."

Keyan nodded to all three of them and left the cockpit to go to the garage and speak with Mandalore and HK-47.

Both battle-hardened warriors looked to him when Keyan entered the room. Mandalore approached him, "I wanted to thank you Jedi Toban, traveling with you has reminded me of the true spirit of the Mandalorians." The leader of the Mandalorian Clans handed Keyan a heavily modified call beacon, "If you ever need help, no matter where you are the Mandalorian Clans will always be ready to fight at your side." Keyan and Mandalore shook hands, griping each other's forearms, in the way of Mandalorian warriors.

Then HK-47 stepped up, "Statement: I to want to thank you Jedi, if not for you my ingenious design would have been lost forever and that would have been a blight unto the galaxy. I also thank you for allowing Mandalore to become my Master; I feel that we will make a great team, not that I would not happily serve you as well. However, I believe that my new Master and I are more compatible than you and I are."

Keyan chuckled, "I think I feel the same way HK. I just wanted to thank you both, you two were essential to the defeat of the Sith plans in the Republic, the galaxy owes you a great debt. May the Force be with you."

Mandalore chuckled and nodded before leading HK-47 out of the garage and to the airlock where he waited for the shuttle to pick him up.

Keyan smiled and walked over to the medical room where Bao-Dur was talking to Mira as he checked a few bandages covering some of the physical wounds that the Jedi Consular had taken in her fight with Hanharr.

Both Jedi looked up from their conversation when Keyan walked in. Bao-Dur merely smiled, but Mira gave Keyan a little bit of a glare. Keyan held up his hands, "Sorry was I interrupting?"

Bao-Dur shook his head, "Not at all, we were just discussing what we would do when we reached Telos." The Zabrak Jedi tapped his chin and sighed, "I guess I'll go and contact our transport and tell them we're ready to leave."

Mira nodded to him as he walked out and then returned to glaring at Keyan.

The elder Jedi arched an eyebrow at her, "Ok, what did I do now?"

Mira sighed and blew air out her lips in annoyance, "It's just that everyone is breaking up; you're going off to fight who-knows what, Bao-Dur and I are off to try and heal a planet, and Mandalore and HK-47 are off to reunite the Mandalorian Clans. Everything became so much more complicated when you taught me the Force; sometimes I just wish we'd never met."

Keyan sighed and sat on the medical bed next to her, "But if we hadn't met I'd be some trophy or servant for Goto and you'd still be on Nar Shaddaa working as a bounty hunter. Now you'll be helping people rebuild their home and you won't have to face the risks you did before or be placed in the position where you might have to kill."

Mira sighted, "I guess so."

Keyan slid off the bed and grabbed both of her shoulders, "Oh come on Mira, I know these last few weeks have been trying on everyone, but we need you, Bao-Dur will need your help, and the people of Telos will need you."

The red haired woman looked at Keyan through tired eyes, "You really mean that, don't you?"

Keyan gave her a grin and patted her shoulders, "Do you even have to ask that Mira? I mean think about it, think about everything we've been through and look and see what that Force can reveal to you and how can you honestly ask me that?"

Mira slid off the bed and suddenly enveloped Keyan in a hug, "Thank you so much Keyan."

Keyan let his arms enfold her and smiled, "Your welcome Mira." Their arms relaxed from each other and Keyan rubbed her shoulders slightly before letting them drop to his sides, "May the Force be with you."

Mira smiled, "And may the Force be with you, Master."

With their goodbyes said they both left the medical room and joined everyone else by the airlock where everyone was shaking hands and giving hugs before everyone left.

As Keyan and Mira walked up Keyan felt the Force surrounding the crew of the _Ebon Hawk_ sparking with love and caring towards each other. The past few months had formed the crew into a solid group, a group that would support each other no matter what.

Mandalore and HK-47's shuttle docked first and with a few final good-byes they boarded their shuttle and detached, off to do whatever the Force wanted for them.

Next the Republic transport docked and both Bao-Dur and Mira stepped on. Keyan smiled at both of them, "Remember to watch out for each other and trust the Force."

Both younger Jedi smiled at each other then nodded to those staying on the ship before the airlock finally closed behind them.

Keyan turned and looked over those who would be traveling with him into the Unknown Regions, to search for Revan and the real Sith Empire.

He gave a final sigh, then nodded slightly to himself, "Alright lets get to it, everybody to your stations."

The remaining crew of the _Ebon Hawk_ broke up to take there stations, Atton to the pilot seat, Visas to the Navigation Room, Brianna to the topside turbolaser turret, and Keyan to the copilot seat.

As they scattered about Keyan grabbed Visas gently by the arm, "Visas are you sure you can find Revan?"

Visas nodded, "Yes, I once felt him before when I first boarded the _Ravager_ someone as powerful as Revan leaves his presence on places like his ship, even if his Force presence has since then I am sure I can find him if I focus through my meditations enough once we find a planet where Revan has visited in his travels in he Unknown Regions."

Keyan nodded and released her arm, "Thank you Visas, I hope you are successful in your search."

Visas nodded and took her seat in the Navigation Room while Keyan continued to the cockpit where Atton was preparing to make the jump into hyperspace.

As he slid into the copilot chair Atton chuckled, "Well, where to Captain?"

Keyan looked over the Navigation Computer, "Well we only know a few planets in the Unknown Regions,"

Atton snorted, "That would be where the 'Unknown' comes from."

Keyan paused to give him a slight glare, "As I was saying, we can only jump to a few planets, but the closest planet we could go to would be Adumar, near the edge of the Mid Rim. From there we can update our Navigation Computer and continue into the Unknown Regions until Visas can detect Revan's presence."

Atton shook his head, "So we really are going after Revan?"

Keyan nodded, "We really are. He went to try and defeat the true Sith out there and something happened to keep him there or the fight was bigger than he thought and I mean to help him win that fight."

Atton nodded and silently keyed in the coordinates for Adumar, where their journey would begin.

ADUMAR, THE KATORRS SYSTEM 

The _Ebon Hawk_ exited hyperspace and entered into orbit around Adumar as the blue and green globe of the system's primary planet slowly rotated beyond the cockpit. Keyan smiled, he had visited Adumar long ago as a new Jedi Knight and its beauty had imprinted itself on his memory, he was glad to see that it hadn't changed.

He looked at Atton, "Well Atton set a vector to land in the Adu'min Spaceport."

Atton nodded, fully involved in flying the ship around Adumar's largest moon.

Keyan rose from his seat and entered the garage where T3-M4 was making repairs after the ship's rough landing on Malachor V. When Keyan entered the utility droid beeped happily and rolled over to him, still beeping and warbling with increased urgency.

Keyan frowned at the little droid as he tried to understand what he was saying; when he finally understood he needed T3 to repeat himself to make sure he hadn't misunderstood him.

If T3 was correct this was the same place Revan had stopped at before continuing onto the Unknown Regions and the Sith. What was even more impressive was that T3 said that Revan had left a message on the planet for him to use to unlock the deepest memory banks of the Navigation Computer and reveal many of the star systems in the Unknown Regions. Apparently Revan had somehow known that Keyan or someone would try and follow him after T3 returned and he had left the message to allow that person to find him. Curiously T3 had been programmed to reveal this only if he and this person returned to Adumar.

Keyan nodded gratefully to the droid, "Thank you T3, I'm sure Revan will be proud of you when we find him. Now do you know where he hid the message?"

T3 warbled sadly, _No, my Master did not permit me to join him when he left the ship the last time we were here._

Keyan sighed, "Its ok T3, I'm sure we'll find it. Thank you for speaking up, your input is always helpful."

With that the silver utility droid rolled off to continue his repairs while Keyan grabbed some supplies from the men's dormitories on the starboard side of the freighter to supplement his two cyan lightsabers that hung from his belt on either side. He grabbed his carefully crafted Elite Watchman Blaster, which he had modified with loving precision throughout his travels. After sliding the blaster into its holster on his right thigh Keyan equipped his standard equipment for a mission, ranging from some Medpacs to a special belt made by the Jal Shey that helped him increased his resistance to Force attacks while also helping him focus his own Force powers. Lastly Keyan strapped on several pieces of light brown armor plating on his chest, back, and arms that blended in with the tunic he wore before pulling the darker brown robe that hung loosely over his form.

Thus suitably geared he returned to the cockpit where Atton was just finishing the landing in the Adu'min Spaceport. With a slight thump the freighter set down in the Spaceport that served Adumar's capital.

Atton turned and stood up, "Well now what?"

Keyan breathed deeply and closed his eyes, reaching out shortly for any remainder of Revan's presence here, there was a faint sense coming from the southwest and the Adumar ruins there.

Keyan opened his eyes, "Revan has been here Atton and he left a message here that will unlock the memory banks of the Navigation Computer. That will give us all the data we need to search the Unknown Regions for him."

Atton looked a little skeptical, but rose anyway, "Than I guess I'll come with you."

Keyan shook his head, resting a hand on the younger man's shoulder, "No Atton, this is something that I need to do myself. I want you and the rest of the crew to stay here and wait for me."

The brown haired Jedi starred at Keyan for a few minutes before nodding, "If you say so Keyan."

The elder Jedi patted Atton's shoulder and walked out of the cockpit.

As Keyan approached the _Ebon Hawk_'s boarding ramp he wasn't at all surprised to find Brianna and Visas there waiting for him, both geared up and ready to travel.

He sighed and approached them, ready to repeat what he said to Atton, but Brianna beat him to it, "You've already made up your mind, it doesn't matter what we say, you're going alone aren't you?"

Keyan chuckled, he hadn't been aware he was broadcasting his thoughts so clearly, but nodded, "I feel that whatever Revan left behind here is for me alone to find, I wish both of your could come with me."

Visas nodded in a quiet acceptance, "I know you do, but it is the will of the Force that you and you only find what Revan left here; we will be waiting when you return." With that both women stood aside, giving each other a venomous look; a rivalry of sorts had developed between Brianna and Visas ever since Visas first joined them and the past few months had not made it any better.

With one final sigh the Jedi Weapons Master walked down the boarding ramp and into the moist Adumarian air.

A thin layer of sweat instantly appeared on his skin as Keyan neared the entrance to the Spaceport's main terminal. A few travelers moved around the large domed building, going to and from the many hangars that connected to the terminal in a large ring.

As Keyan stepped into the terminal a human in a uniform sporting the Spaceport's color scheme approached him.

The shorter human had his bright red hair slicked back and a thin mustache of the same color gracing his upper lip, his slightly bulbous appearance spoke of the ease of his job, which also gave him a pair of extra chins. Those extra chins wobbled slightly as the man spoke, "Greeting the Adu'min Spaceport Traveler, I am Terrance Brin, Manager for Hangars 23 through 32. I am pleased that you have chosen to dock in Hangar 27 and I will be pleased to allow you ship to stay there as long as you need and offer the Spaceport's resources, after a 100 credit payment of course." The plump manager opened his hands greedily, awaiting the payment.

Keyan sighed and dug a 100-credit chip out of his pocket and handed it to Terrance.

The manager smiled and bowed slightly, "Thank you sir, now if you have any questions about the city or the services that are now at your disposal I will answer them now."

Keyan nodded, "Tell me, how would one obtain passage to the Adumar ruins?"

Terrance frowned, "I'm sorry sir, but there is no commercial transport to the Adumar ruins, they are still under exploration by the Adumar Archeological Science Teams and there is no set date to when it will become open to the public. We do, however, many other points of interest other than the ruins…"

Before he could begin Keyan spoke up, "Where could I find those in charge of those Archeological Teams?"

The manager thought for a moment, then pointed to a nearby computer terminal, "If you are interested in the ruins I would recommend that you seek out the local Archeological Science Headquarters, they will be able to answer you're questions better than I can."

Keyan nodded his thanks to the plump manage and walked past him swiftly toward the computer terminal.

After logging in Keyan ran a search for the Archeological Science Headquarters and discovered that the Adumar Archeological Science, or the AAS, was located nearby so that it personnel could easily access their ships here to return to the may sites they studied around Adumar.

Further searching revealed that the AAS had been reporting difficulties exploring the ruins that Keyan was interested in, apparently deadly traps and obstacles had been having a high toll and slowing the exploration to a halt.

Keyan knew without even being at the ruins that the traps must have something to do with what Revan left behind, whether or not Revan set the traps up originally, he would have used them as a perfect defense for the hiding place he'd found for the sensitive information stored there.

Logging out of the computer Keyan exited the Spaceport and after a quick walk arrived at the AAS Headquarters.

A cheery secretary greeted him, "Welcome to the Adumar Archeological Headquarters what can I do for you sir?"

Keyan smiled, "I was hoping to meet with whoever is in charge here about the possibility of working on the ruins to the southwest."

The secretary smiled and nodded, "Of course, I will be happy to; Dr. Gerance Icron doesn't have any appointments, so please go right in."

Keyan nodded his thanks to the woman and walked down a long hallway that ended with a pair of double doors with the AAS's symbol carved into each, a pickax and a brush crossed over a picture of Adumar.

Keyan opened the doors and walked in where Dr. Gerance was seated behind a large, yet simple desk. When Keyan entered Dr. Gerance, a tall well-built man whose clean-shaven head and face revealed a number of scars, rose and stepped out from behind his desk, his hand extended toward Keyan, "Welcome, I am Doctor Gerance Icron, the Head Archeologist here at the AAS and who might you be?"

Keyan shook Gerance's offered hand and smiled, "My name is Keyan Toban Dr. Icron, thank you for seeing me."

Dr. Gerance smiled, "Oh it is no trouble, now tell me what brings to the AAS? We don't serve tourists so I assume that you are interested in some work or visiting one of the ruins we are currently studying, correct?"

Keyan nodded, "Yes, you see I am interested in the ruins to the southwest, but I was told that I could only reach them through the AAS."

Dr. Gerance nodded, "That is correct, but that still doesn't explain why you are so interested in the ruins, most of what we found would only interest someone like myself."

Keyan nodded, "Well, to be perfectly honest Doctor, I wasn't really planning on working for you as an archeologist. You see as I understand it you have been loosing men and resources because of a number of traps and obstacles that are still working; I am willing to help you clear those traps and obstacles."

Dr. Icron looked and Keyan questioningly, "Why would you be willing to do that? If you are expecting me to pay you I am sorry, but the AAS has a very tight budget and we can't afford to hire someone to do that or we would have done it already."

Keyan shook his head, "Dr. Icron I believe that there may be some information that I need in those ruins, I am willing to clear the traps for your men as long as you allow me to explore that ruins alone to find what I am looking for."

Dr. Gerance stared and Keyan for a few moments, "And what if you don't find what you are looking for?"

Keyan crossed his arms, "If I don't find it then consider my efforts an act of charity, to help ensure that the exploration of Adumar continues safely and end the loss of life."

Dr. Icron smiled, "Well, if that's all you need Mr. Toban, I'll have you on a transport for the ruins immediately."

Keyan smiled, "Thank you Doctor."

Gerance smiled and shook his head, "No thanks needed, you just take care of those traps and get my men into the ruins safely and we'll call it even."

Keyan shook hands with Gerance again as the Doctor spoke again, "Just go to Hangar 14 and tell the captain your name, I'll tell him ahead of time that you're coming."

The Keyan nodded, "I'll be there."

As soon as Keyan had left his office Gerance returned to his desk and sat down, activating the comlink built into the desk.

He spoke quickly in hushed tones with the person on the other end, by the time he had finished speaking Keyan had already left the AAS Headquarters and was heading for the hangar.

HANGAR 14, ADU'MIN SPACEPORT 

As Keyan entered Hangar 14 he was instantly greeted by the smell of engine oil and the sound of an engine in bad repair trying to star. When the interior hangar door opened Keyan was not surprised to find the transport he was to ride in was not in very good condition. The transport's hull was dented and scratched, if it had ever had a coat of paint, the wear of time had removed it completely; Keyan wouldn't have even been surprised if the transport wasn't even airtight.

The transport's captain and pilot walked down the boarding ramp as the transport's ancient engines coughed to life with a loud roar and a cloud of black smoke.

The greasy man wiped both hands on his filthy overalls in a vain attempt to clean his hands before extending his hand to Keyan, "You must be Keyan Toban, I'm Padin Vade, captain of the AAS Transport _Exploration_. I guess we'll be your ride to the southwest ruins, so come aboard."

Padin must have noticed Keyan's dubious look toward the battered transport, "Don't worry, I know she looks beat up, but she has made this run hundreds of times and through worst weather than we'll be flying in today. But, if it puts your mind at easy you can sit in the cockpit with Jer, my copilot, and me."

Keyan nodded, "Well then let's get going."

Padin nodded and walked up the boarding ramp, already yelling to Jer to lift off.

With an unsettling groan the transport took off, her hull shaking as she increased her speed.

Jer turned out to be an elderly woman with graying hair and wrinkled skin that had that was bronze from a lifetime in the sun. She was a sharp contrast to Padin's youthful pale skin, but the two seemed to get along very well and from the way they spoke to each other it seemed that Padin was much older than he seemed.

The uninhabited area of Adumar flashed below the transport as in cruised through the planet's lower atmosphere. After about an hour Keyan noticed a faint whistling sound and after following it to it source he found that his earlier comment had been correct, the _Exploration_ wasn't airtight at all.

Returning to his seat Keyan watched as the Adumar ruins came into view. The ruins were on the top of a low rise that overlooked the surrounding plains; toppled pillars create the illusion of rays of sun radiating out from the main buildings. From what Keyan had read during the flight that these ruins most likely had been a fortress; the ruins had been, and they still looked, awe inspiring, even after decades of disrepair. A tall tower rose from the center, its tip worn away and broken from the elements, while several small buildings spread out from the tower in a seemingly random pattern, and finally the buildings themselves were surrounded by a broken down wall that obviously had been much higher when it had been kept up, since it could only have been two meters high as it was.

On the north side of the ruins an opening that had been the gate into the ruins still remained, only being held up by the rusted metal gates themselves. Further north was the AAS base camp, nearly two-dozen tents stood in an orderly fashion with automated defense turrets forming a perimeter around the camp itself. A clearing inside the defense ring, yet some distance from the rest of the tents, showed the wear from ships landing, which marked it as the landing zone.

As Padin and Jer piloted their transport toward the landing zone their communication system crackled to life, "This is AAS Camp SW-0105 to the AAS Transport _Exploration_. What are you two doing here? Dr. Icron said you wouldn't be here for another three days."

Jer answered the call; Padin was busy finalizing their approach, "We have some special cargo that is going to help you finish up in those ruins."

The voice on the other end laughed coldly, "And what's that? Did Doc somehow manage to get his hands enough money to hire a professional or did he get tired of explaining how come one in every three personal station at these _safe_ ruins is dying every week and decide to pull us out of here?"

Jer responded just as coolly, "Something like that, but you see in just a few minutes, _Exploration_ out."

The transport's hull shook even more as Padin landed the vessel, causing Keyan's teeth to chatter from the vibrations. When they finally landed the ship seemed to sigh as her engines powered down with a cough; Keyan was sure he could hear pieces of the ship rattling into place after being shifted during the flight.

Padin and Jer turned in their pilots chairs to face Keyan; Padin gave their passenger a full smile, "Well, I'd say that went pretty good. I hope you enjoyed your flight, good luck in clearing out those ruins, if you ever need a ride back to the Adu'min Spaceport do not hesitate to call us."

Keyan returned the smile, "Thank you, both of you, the flight was fine and I do appreciate your hospitality." Rising from his seat Keyan adjusted his robes and left the cockpit and the _Exploration_'s two pilots, while he headed for the transport's boarding ramp.

Pausing at the top of the ramp Keyan reached out and felt Revan's presence, stronger this time, clearly coming from the ruins. Calmly preparing himself for what he had to do Keyan reached over and hit the button that lowered the ramp letting the moist Adumar air enter the transport.

With one final calming breath Keyan strode down the ramp confidently, his eyes immediately picking out two humans in AAS uniforms waiting for him.

Keyan smiled as he approached them, the first was a man probably in his mid-fifties with graying black hair and a pointed beard, the other was a younger woman with jet black hair flowing freely over her shoulders; as Keyan looked at them he realized that they looked similar enough to be father and daughter.

The man extended his hand to Keyan, "Hello, you must be the help that Dr. Icron promised, welcome to AAS Camp SW-0105; I am Doctor Ian Terack, the head researcher here, and this is my niece and assistant, Sherry." Ian's niece nodded to Keyan as he responded.

Keyan smiled and shook Ian's hand, "Thank you Dr. Terack, I am Keyan Toban."

Ian smiled back, "Thank you for coming Keyan and you can just call me Ian, this place is too informal for a bunch of titles and nonsense." Ian smiled when Keyan nodded his understanding, "I can't tell you how good it is to see that that Icron finally managed to send some help here, and we've been losing people constantly ever since we first ran into the traps in the ruins' catacombs."

When Ian paused to take a breathe Sherry spoke up, "If you'll excuse me Uncle, but I still have work to do, I'll leave you to bring our guest up to speed on the situation."

Ian nodded as Sherry walked off. Once she was out of earshot he spoke again, "Poor girl, her mother, my daughter, and father were working in the catacombs when the traps first became active, both were dead with minutes leaving poor Sherry without any family besides myself."

Ian sighed, "But, never mind that for now. If you'll please follow me to my tent I will show what we know about the catacombs that we need you to clear out."

Keyan nodded and followed Ian from the landing zone to the largest of the tents, which was only the size of a small apartment. Just inside the doorway Keyan paused and looked at the imposing ruins that waited for him.

Keyan sighed grimly, _So starts another journey, yet who can know what mysteries were hiding in the darkness that Revan has gone into._


	2. Answers And More Questions

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars, even though I am an avid fan of it. Star Wars and KOTOR II belong to George Lucas and OBSIDIAN. I am using a Galaxy Map that I found on for the locations for some of the planets, however those in the Unknown Regions are either original names or inspired by other planets on the website.

**Chapter II: Answers And More Questions**

Well before the sun rose over the AAS Base Camp Keyan rose from his cot in the small tent that Ian had provided him and quickly gathered his gear, including wrist light that Ian had supplied him with. Pushing the tent's flap door aside Keyan stepped into the early twilight with the western sky growing faintly brighter with the approaching daylight.

Setting a brisk pace for himself Keyan quickly reached the perimeter defense turrets and walked past them to a small grove of trees just outside the camp's boundaries. Crossing his legs and sitting in the center of the grove Keyan slowly reached out and felt the life around him.

He felt nocturnal creatures as they hid themselves from the coming sun and daytime creatures rousing to begin another day. Keyan let himself be carried by the flow of the Force until he was aware of all the life surrounding him; he stretched out further to the AAS Camp and the ruins beyond.

The camp was a complex mix a feelings ranging from sorrow to anxiety, the ruins however, were very surprising as they still held the pain of all the deaths that had happened within their walls. As Keyan reached further he felt Revan's presence coming from the deepest parts of the ruins.

Keyan felt the warmth of the morning sun on his face and slowly came out of the trance he had fallen into until he opened his eyes to the sight of a beautiful sunrise whose light was beaming through the branches of the grove.

Taking a deep breath and rising to his feet Keyan turned to face the AAS Camp and walked off with the feel of Adumar's life still echoing in his mind.

When he returned to the clearing in the center of the camp Keyan saw that Ian had already gathered the team that was going to join Keyan into the ruins' catacombs. The leader of the team was a grizzled, scarred woman named Tera Nultin with a scoped blaster rifle on her back; Tera had been one of the camp's hunters before the sudden dangers of the catacombs had called for someone with her reflexes to start leading the expeditions. The rest of the team was made up of four men and one more woman; as Keyan approached one of the men looked up from cleaning his Disruptor Rifle. Keyan shook his head, if they were going to be disarming traps that Rifle wasn't going to do him any good other than slowing him down.

Ian was speaking to Tera when Keyan approached; the short man gave Keyan a smile when he noticed the Jedi Weapons Master approaching, which made the glare that Tera gave him seem even more fierce as Ian went to meet Keyan.

The early morning breeze stirred Ian's graying hair as he shook Keyan's hand, "Good morning Keyan, everything is ready. You can head out as soon as you say."

Keyan nodded, "Alright, then I guess we might as well head out," glancing in Tera's direction Keyan nodded, "Let's get going Tera."

Ian nodded and patted Keyan on the shoulder, "Good luck Keyan."

Keyan gave Ian a faint grin and jogged off after the AAS squad as it made its way to the ruins' collapsed wall.

When they reached to wall Tera lead everyone over the wall, her Blaster Rifle out and scanning ahead as if she expected an attack at any moment.

Keyan paused atop of the wall to glance over the ruins, taking in a few unique structures he could use to get his bearings if he got disoriented. He jumped down from the wall and landed in the long shadow cast by morning sun, his robes creating a brown pool around him before he rose from his feet.

Keyan rose to his feet and walked over to where Tera had gathered the team, the base of the wall that had been worn away till it only stood two meters high. Tera glanced at him angrily before addressing her team, "Alright people listen up we're going into the catacombs, so everyone stay alert, watch your partner's back, and we'll all make it out in one piece." The veteran hunter turned to face Keyan, her dislike of the newcomer obvious on her face, "Well Toban, you just do what you were hired to do and I'll make sure that you don't get yourself killed."

Keyan nodded his head respectfully, "I would appreciate that Tera. Now we should move on, delaying this isn't going to make this trip any easier."

Tera nodded, if a bit grudgingly, and marched off toward the entrance to the underground portion of the ruins. Everyone put their various light sources on and flashed them along the darkened passageways. The man with the Disruptor Rifle and another with a pair of Heavy Blaster Pistols lead from the front with Tera and Keyan next and the people remaining took up the rear, the last two placing small transponders that were used to let them retrace their steps to the surface.

They made their way through the underground warrens until they reached a hallway with large chunks of rumble littering the floor and a good-sized hole at the end. The faint sound of dripping water echoed from dark passages of the catacombs.

Everyone stopped when they reached the hole and Tera nudged Keyan's shoulder, "Alright Toban, this is where we see if you're up to this; you take the lead and check for traps, when you're sure that it's safe to continue contact me on my comlink and we'll catch up with you."

Keyan nodded and stepped past the two men in the front into the catacombs, his wrist light shining over the slowly crumbling walls. The ground beneath his feet squelched with every step and his wrist light revealed graves in the walls with only moss and wet matter, nothing that he could have ever identify as the remains of a human body.

Keyan gave a sigh and let his senses reach out to search for any threats and for where Revan's presence had been, he got his bearings and smoothly unclipped one of his lightsabers before he moved forward.

The first handful of minutes was quiet as Keyan passed through areas that didn't have any traps, and then he found where the first of the traps had been found and tripped by unlucky AAS personnel. The traps ranged from primitive weapons on axes that swung down on you when tripped them to others that were so complex that Keyan would have had to take more time than he had to study them and figure out how they worked.

Finally Keyan found the first trap; his foot snapped a thin wire and released three axes that swung down from the ceiling, arcing where Keyan's head was. Keyan easily ducked under the axes and with a flick of his wrist snapped them free with the Force and set them against the catacomb wall.

Keyan gave the area a quick search, with both his eyes and Force senses, before lifting his comlink to his lips and contacted Tera, "All clear, move up." Shortly after the team arrived, lead by a stone faced Tera.

Tera glanced at the three broken ax heads, "So you can handle the simplest of traps, we'll see how you deal with the more advanced ones. I've seen them kill a man in seconds, with nothing but his boots left to bury."

Keyan gave Tera cold smile, "Thanks for the words of comfort, if I didn't know better I'd say you want me to fail."

Tera sniffed slightly, "If you did, I wouldn't shed a tear."

Keyan gave a small internal sigh and headed out, leaving Tera to stare at his back angrily.

He stepped around the next corner and suddenly felt a warning through the Force, with out thinking Keyan pitched himself forward as flames shot up from the floor and down from the ceiling, scorching the entire area he had just been standing in.

Shaking his robes off and facing the firetrap Keyan glanced over the blackened stone, looking for any trip wires distinguishable from the piles of ash. Keyan searched the area with the Force and quickly found a small stone that would move if someone stepped on it, triggering the trap. With the practiced efficiency of someone used to disarming traps Keyan jammed the trap and stuffed loose rocks and dirt into the half dozen openings where the fire had come from.

Moving on slowly Keyan came to a chamber where two more pathways branched off. Reaching out with his Force senses Keyan searched the two pathways until he found Revan's presence down the right one.

Before he started down the right path he contacted Tera and no sooner than the team saw which way he was going, then Keyan disappeared down the dark passageway.

Keyan stepped slowly through the long hallway, graves carved out of the rack walls covering every area that he could see.

A faint grinding alerted Keyan that he had set off another trap, jumping back with the grace only another Jedi could match Keyan dodged a block of stone that slid down from the catacombs ceiling. The soft, moist floor deafened the impact to a low thud, though the stone block still cracked into several small pieces.

Keyan cautiously climbed over the stone and checked the next stretch of catacombs and found two more similar traps further on. If anyone tried to dodge the first stone by jumping forward they would trigger the others, killing the unlucky person before he could recover from dodging the first.

After disabling the two other traps Keyan called the team up before moving forward into the depths of the catacombs.

The next twenty minutes were filled with similar traps, some more advanced and others that seemed to not be working correctly, but either way Keyan triggered or disabled every trap and called Tera and the team forward until he was standing in front of a large stone door with Tera and the rest of the team waiting behind him.

Tera tapped the door with her knuckle, "So how do you expect to get through this? We didn't bring any explosives with us and I doubt you did either."

Keyan resisted the effort to make return with a snide comment as he powered up his cyan lightsaber. He waved it slightly, letting Tera's eyes widen as she realized what it was, "You'd be surprised how well these things work at opening stubborn doors." Tera quickly stepped back from the man she suddenly realized was a Jedi Knight at Keyan's gesture as he poised his lightsaber over the middle of the door.

Keyan gave the door a quick check, looking for any weaknesses in the stone that cutting it could cause a cave in; satisfied that the stone was sturdy enough Keyan stabbed his cyan blade into the aged stone.

The stone instantly melted and seemed to jump away from the glowing blade, Keyan quickly cut a roughly man sized door and withdrew his lightsaber as the stone cooled. With the stone once again a dark gray color Keyan gave the cutout a swift kick that knocked the stone into the room beyond.

Without waiting for the dust in the next room to settle Keyan ducked through the stone door and found himself standing in a massive underground cavern. Shining his wrist light around as Tera led the rest of the team through revealed massive stalactites and stalagmites that had been carved to resemble people from centuries ago who had been buried here.

Keyan heard someone inhale sharply as they entered the cavern and soon six other beams of light were scanning over the intricately carved figures. Keyan walked deeper into the cavern, leaving Tera and her team to gaze in awe at the scale of the cavern.

At the end of the cavern Keyan found another stone doorway, though it was already opened Keyan still checked for traps and shined his wrist light into the room beyond for as far as he could.

What his light revealed was a long corridor with intricately carved coffins sitting in small cut outs in the walls, but before he could find the end the shadows and dust smothered his light to nothing about ten meters in front of him.

Keyan took a deep breath and entered the room, Revan's presence was the strongest in this room; he must be getting close to where Revan had left his message and whatever else he'd thought that Keyan would need.

The corridor ended abruptly as a circular chamber with a large stone sarcophagus on a pedestal in the center. Keyan cautiously ascended the pedestal and brushed his hand over the aged stone, clearing dust away to reveal that image of an ancient king on the stone clutching some type of sword. But what caught Keyan's eye was a metallic circle placed in the carving's shoulder blending in slightly with the armor carved in the coffin; at least it blended in until Keyan shined his wrist light over it, then it shone brightly against the stone carving.

Slowly he rested his hand on the circle and jerked it back suddenly when he felt a slight prick on his finger. When he looked at his finger he noticed a small bead of blood on the surface.

Without thinking about Keyan quickly prepared his body to fight off any poisons, even in tiny amounts some could kill a man instantly. But, instead of poison the needle that had stabbed him withdrew inside itself and suddenly a hologram, static eating away at it from age, flashed to life.

When the image finally materialized Keyan immediately recognized the figure as Revan, clad in an off-white robe with brown ceramic armor covering his upper body covered by the brown robe of a Jedi Master and his lightsaber at his waist. Revan's face was smudged with dirt and weary lines made his face seemed older and his loose brown hair stuck to his face from sweat and dirt, but his gray eyes still held the same fire Keyan remembered from the Mandalorian Wars.

Revan's holographic figure smiled, "Hello Keyan, its good to see you again."

Keyan's eyes widen from surprise, _How could he have known I would come here?_

The holographic figure continued, "I know you must have many questions, but I don't have the time to answer you now. But if it is the will of the Force we will meet I can answer you in person." Revan gestured to the sarcophagus below him, "In this sarcophagus you'll find information on the Unknown Regions, which should allow you to at least find my trail in the true Sith Empire. I don't know how long it will be before you find this message, but I've tried to keep the information simple enough that it will still be useful to you."

Keyan nodded slowly, _Just like Revan, always planning ahead, but still how could he have known that it would be me how came here and not someone else?_

Revan finally bowed his head slightly, "I wish I could leave you more, but I have run out of time and I am still not certain that you will even find this message. However, in this information will be the codes you will need to unlock the navigation computer without a matching voice; you'll need T3-M4, so I hope that little droid is still with you. Go luck Keyan and May the Force be with you, my old friend." With that the holographic image collapsed in on itself and then the small holoprojector began to smoke as the disk and the unit slowly burnt.

Keyan smiled faintly and used the Force to lift the lid of the sarcophagus so he could retrieve what Revan had left for him. It also occurred to Keyan as he lifted the large stone lid that without the Force it would most likely require heavy machinery to lift this thing, obviously Revan's plans again.

Setting the lid at the foot of the pedestal Keyan shined his light in the coffin he revealed and easily found three small data discs disguised as pieces of armor in the king's scale mail suit of armor.

Placing the discs in his robes Keyan carefully replaced the lid and turned to rejoin the AAS Team in the cavern.

But as he turned he felt a jolt of pain through the Force and without thinking activated his lightsaber, casting a pale cyan light over the chamber as he held it ready before him.

Only a slight crunching sound told Keyan that he wasn't alone before a dark robed figure stepped into the chamber; the figure gripped something in its hand, but the shadows of the corridor hid it from Keyan.

Keyan faced the figure as he slowly stepped down from the pedestal, "Who are you?"

The figure laughed, a sound that reminded Keyan of dried leaves cracking, "I am you executioner Jedi, but it is not your time to die, for now I've just come to cause you pain." The figure threw what it was holding and when it stopped rolling at Keyan's feet, the Jedi Weapons Master had to struggle to keep from feeling sick.

It was Tera's scarred head, blood running down a face contorted in pain.

The figure laughed its dried leaf laugh again, "She was the only one who put up a fight, the others nearly killed themselves, but that one nearly escaped to warn you; but, as you'll come to learn, then no one escapes me."

Keyan tore his eyes away from Tera's lifeless gaze and locked his gaze on her murderer, "You will face justice for the deaths you have caused."

The figure's voice became mocking, "Not more of that Jedi nonsense, you have no idea who I am, do you? Well it just as well, the entire Jedi Order never knew about me except for two, but they didn't know about me, or much else, for long either."

Suddenly blood red lightning sprang from the depths of figures robes and arced toward Keyan with amazing speed. Keyan threw up a wall of Force to stop the attack, but the impact shattered it completely. Desperately Keyan threw a massive wave of Force to try and knock the figure off balance and halt his attack, but somehow the figure blocked the attack while increasing his attacks.

Then the first bolt of Force lightning hit.

At first Keyan felt nothing, then a wave of pain hit him so hard that his lightsaber fall away and his body collapsed to the ground as more waves of energy ran through him.

With every ounce of his will Keyan tried to fight off the pain long enough to defend himself, but all he could do was scream out in pain. Then suddenly the pain stopped and Keyan heard that voice, like snake skin being crushed, "If you are the best the Jedi have to offer now then you are not even worth my time. I have heard of a stronger Jedi who now wanders our realm, perhaps I will seek him out and see if he can stand up against me."

Keyan began to rise to purse the figure, but by the time he lifted his head the shadows had swallowed the black robed assailant completely.

_Author's Note: Well that's Chapter 2; sorry if it's a little short, but this seemed like the best place to end it. If everything goes well Chapter 3 should make up for it. Thanks to those who reviewed and look out for the next Chapter._


End file.
